


The Courtship of Peter Parker's Father (Figures)

by flyingonfeatherlesswings



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Flirting, Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, New Superfamily, Protective Tony Stark, alien attacks, clueless adults, dad figures, tricky Peter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-06 18:57:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14063373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyingonfeatherlesswings/pseuds/flyingonfeatherlesswings
Summary: Peter couldn't stand to sit by while Tony and Stephen danced around each other any longer. Something had to be done.





	The Courtship of Peter Parker's Father (Figures)

**Author's Note:**

> This has been rattling around in my brain for a while, especially the title, which I think is clever at least. It's a play off a film from the 60s called The Courtship of Eddie's Father in which a young Ron Howard tries to find his single dad a new wife. 
> 
> Pretty much dismisses whatever the hell is gonna happen in Infinity War.

Peter Parker was a smart kid. No one could argue with that fact, after all he went to an advanced school that focused on math and science and received stellar grades, at least when his duties as a superhero weren’t keeping him from writing papers and working on projects. 

He might be considered dim when it came to social skills by some, but he picked up on more than people thought. He could tell when MJ was being condescending or when their apartment super was lingering because he wanted to talk with his aunt for a few minutes longer. Oh flirting he could pick up on alright, he’d seen enough people doing it with May to understand these people weren’t just being extra nice for no reason. 

And he knew that Tony liked to flirt with Stephen Strange. 

Stephen wasn’t at all the Avengers’ meetings but when he was, Peter noted how Tony reacted. Sometimes in the middle of a meeting or a party, a more rare occurrence, sparks would materialize midair and a portal would form. When the first sign of this portal appeared Tony always perked up, and no matter how frustrated he was because of their deliberations, the arrival of the sorcerer improved his mood. The other Avengers may not have noticed the effect Strange had on the billionaire but Peter’s Spidey Senses were practically tingling. 

Peter liked Tony, he hadn’t realized how much he had missed having an adult male role model in his life, especially one that shared his passion for science and engineering. After everything with Thanos, Peter had started going on regular trips to the Avengers’ facility. Sometimes it was Peter and Tony tooling around in his workshop on new devices and improvements to their suits, other times they were running drills in a simulator. A few times, it was just them watching a movie or playing video games and eating takeout. Those were Peter’s favorite times he spent with Tony. 

Yes, some might say Tony had become a bit of a father figure to Peter, and the teenager could see that Tony was a bit lonely. He could joke around all he wanted, but when the other heroes left after a meeting, Peter could tell Tony would start to shut down, like his snark was all a front that he was just putting on for an audience. But Tony acted genuinely to a certain extent, especially towards Peter and Stephen Strange. 

Peter liked Stephen Strange too. Peter wasn’t sure about the sorcerer at first, thinking him too serious, especially for someone who went around with the title “Doctor Strange” (Peter was mortified when he found out that was his real name, not a made-up title like Peter had just assumed). But then he had cracked a joke so cringeworthy it had only made Peter laugh and he knew that he was alright. 

After that, Stephen had helped Peter a few times in his crime-fighting. Well, his helping was more like, doing the job for Peter. The first time the sorcerer had dealt with the baddies, simple bank robbers, by disarming them and tying them up with a magical energy rope for the police to deal with. He told Peter to get home and go study for his chemistry test. Peter was a little disturbed that Strange had known about his upcoming exam. 

Other times, he saved Peter. The first time Peter had been struck with a blast and would’ve hit a wall had it not been for the Cloak of Levitation wrapping itself around him and catching him in the air. Peter had already taken a lot of damage at that point and had passed out only to wake up in a gothic mansion laying on an old fancy sofa. Stephen had come in with a glass of water and some aspirin and assured Peter that he would live to fight another day.

The next time Peter had been in danger, the piece of debris that the supervillain blasted at him had merely ricocheted off of what appeared to be a red glowing sphere around him. Peter had found it weird until he was able to look closely and examine his suit and find a small stitched series of runes on material that stretched over his calf muscle, close to the bend in the knee. Peter was impressed that Stephen could effectively alter Stark technology in such a way. He was also touched by the gesture. 

Peter could tell that Tony’s interest in the sorcerer was not one-sided. The few times Peter had been around Stephen alone, Strange had asked as nonchalantly as possible after Stark. Asking after his health, asking if he had tried the tea that he had given him to help him sleep (Tony had, even if the taste had made his face screw up, but he had slept like a rock for the first time in a long time). When Strange joined the Avengers, his eyes were always searching for Tony when he came through the portal and his face always lit up in a smile when he found him. Peter could tell that Stephen’s awkward jokes were a desperate attempt at getting Tony to like him. Peter knew that it worked. 

So, Peter liked the two men. And they had looked out for him, both in their own way. He wanted them to be happy. And he thought maybe, just maybe, they could be happy together. Tony with his science and his smart jabs, Stephen with his magic and his quiet contemplation. They worked, they fit together and they had a mutual love of goatees. 

But they kept dancing around each other, flirting and shy looks, and Peter was getting a tad impatient. 

So he decided to help them along. 

xxx

His first attempt to get the two heroes alone was simple. He called Stephen (he joked when the sorcerer had given him his cell phone number, asking why he didn’t have a more magical method of contact. “This works well enough,” said Stephen) and told him there was an emergency and that he should meet him at the Avengers facility. Peter was making a pizza with Tony at the facility and he thought it was a perfect opportunity to include Strange. He had ducked out into the hallway to make the call and when he came back into the kitchen it was just in time to see the portal appear and a frantic Strange come running in. 

“What’s wrong?” called Strange. 

Tony was standing there confused, wearing an apron, holding a pan in an oven-mitt covered hand. “Uh,” said Tony looking around him, “I don’t think anything is? Like for the first time, ever. Why do you think there is? Should I be suiting up?” 

Stephen looked around, finding Peter who was standing in the doorway, and the teen was quickly realizing that when he had had this idea, he hadn’t thought this far ahead. “What’s the emergency, Peter?” asked Stephen.

“Um why do you think there’s an emergency?” answered Peter, trying his best to play coy. 

“The phone call I just got from you?” 

“Oh, really? A phone call? Are you sure it was from me? Not some other Peter from a different dimension?” Peter asked with a nervous chuckle. 

Stephen wasn’t buying it. “My reception doesn’t reach that far, Peter. Now why did you interrupt my work? I was practicing some intricate spell casting.”

Peter deflated, he knew that he was caught. “It’s just, we’re making pizza and I wanted you invite you but you never come around unless the world is ending or something.” 

Tony decided to jump in, feeling bad for his young charge. “Well since you are here already, we do have enough dough for another pizza. I bet you like some freaky stuff on yours. Like wasabi, or stardust, or...corn.” 

Stephen smiled, “It does sound delicious. But the cosmic conditions for these spells are just tonight, so I must get back to them.”

“Yeah, I heard Mercury was in retrograde,” said Tony. 

Stephen laughed, “Yeah, exactly.” 

Stephen spun his hand in a circular motion and reopened the portal. “Hope your pizza is everything you hope it to be. And no more false alarms, young man!” 

After Strange had left, Tony gave Peter an inquiring look. Peter got flustered, “What I’ve never seen the guy eat and he seems lonely. Team building, right?” 

“Right…” said Tony suspiciously, before returning to his pleasant mood, “You are right though, I have never seen the guy eat.”

“I think he may live on like the essence of the universe or something.” 

“Yeah he’s probably super vegan, can’t be blocking those chakras with any tainted animal products,” said Tony. 

Luckily Peter was off the hook and neither adults made a big deal about the situation. Peter would not be dismayed though. He just had to be more clever about his schemes next time. 

xxx

Peter knew that if he wanted to get Stephen and Tony together he would have to entice them to the same location. Without the other Avengers there, because those kind of situations had a tendency to turn into work related conversations. And when Peter saw a news blip on the TV about a new exhibit he knew both Strange and Stark would want to check it out. 

The exhibition was dedicated to the people throughout history who had been accused of witchcraft. Stephen had a few artifacts in the Sanctum that the Medieval “witch hunters” had used to search down their prey. Divining rods and talismans and other devices. 

“It’s mostly nonsense, and almost all of the people they accused and had put to death were merely outcasts. Older, unmarried women who were particularly good at delivering babies. Or wealthy widows that their neighbors envied. No, if anyone hunted sorcerers it was one of our own normally. And they were discreet and had no use of baubles and trinkets on their missions,” said Strange. 

Peter remembered Stephen’s knowledge about that dark era in history and so when he heard about the event at the museum he concocted a better lie this time. He told Tony that he needed to attend an exhibit for school and write a paper on it but he couldn’t afford the museum fee and wouldn’t it be nice if Tony came along with him? He’d let Tony show off his new Stark power station that he’d been bragging about for weeks afterwards. He also texted Stephen and asked if he would like to come and tell him some more on what was displayed there. Amazingly, both agreed and Peter was able to negotiate it on the same day. Peter punched the air in success. 

Tony picked up Peter and they had lunch at one of Tony’s favorite pizza places. He was able to clear the place with just a quick phone call so they wouldn’t have any gawkers. Afterward they continued on to the museum and there was Stephen waiting by the ticket counter. He was wearing form-fitting jeans and a bring red coat that hung down almost to his knees. It was the first time Peter had ever seen Stephen in casual clothes and he suspected that the coat may have been the Cloak in disguise. This was confirmed when a corner of it lifted up and gave Peter a shy wave. 

“Strange?” asked Tony in surprise. “Fancy meeting you here. You planning some magical heist?” 

“Ha ha,” said Strange walking up to them nonchalantly, “Peter here invited me because he wanted to hear about my personal knowledge on the subject of witch hunts. I didn’t know you would be along, though.”

Tony shrugged, “Maybe I can learn something too. Doesn’t sound like such a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.”

Tony bought their tickets, even after Stephen had tried to stop him. “Strange, how do you even have any money at all? Let me get this.” They walked around looking at the cases and reading old documents and looking over artifacts. Peter had brought a notebook with him so he walked over to the bench in the center of the room and sat down, pretending to take notes for his class. This allowed Strange and Stark to be alone together. 

Tony would make jokes, a few of which made Stephen respond with a playful shove but Tony would also fall quiet while Stephen was recounting the stories behind some of the objects in the cases. Peter noticed Tony gazing up at Stephen as the man passionately described the legend behind a tapestry. 

“Wow, you know a lot about this stuff,” said Tony. 

“Well yeah,” said Stephen, “It’s my area and it’s this whole missing part of history that was unlocked to me when I took up sorcery. Plus, the last time I got hurt and was put on bedrest Wong lent me a bunch of books on the subject.” 

“It’s interesting, thank you for your sharing your knowledge on it.”

Even from across the room Peter could see a blush over Stephen’s high cheekbones. “Thank you, Stark.”

“Seriously? It’s Tony.”

“You never call me Stephen...Tony.”

“That’s because ‘Strange’ is so fun to say!” 

Peter wrote “Good job Parker!” in his notebook and gave himself a mental pat on the back. Too bad the moment was shortened when Tony’s phone started to ring. 

Tony apologized and turned around, quietly answering the phone. After a few short sentences he hung up and turned back to Stephen and Peter. “Sorry, there was some sort of glitch with the new system we are testing out. All the lights in the facility are going crazy. I really... got to go take care of that.” Tony looked pain to say that. 

“Oh, well, duty calls, I understand that,” said Stephen. 

“This was fun though,” said Tony, who was not very comfortable being frank when it came to his feelings. “More fun than you would think an exhibit on the unfair persecution of witches would be. Thanks for the invite Peter.”

“No problem, Tony, too bad you have to leave though,” said Peter in disappointment. 

Tony pat Peter on the back and shook Stephen’s hand before making his exit. Both were downtrodden about their day being cut short, but Stephen cracked a smile and bumped Peter with his shoulder. 

“Hey Peter, you ever tried gelato?”

“What’s that? Like fancy European ice cream? I don’t think so, most ice cream I eat comes out the soft serve machine at my local bodega.”

“Well, come on, let’s go out in the hallway, I’ll portal us to Italy. It’s night there right now, but I know a 24 hour place,” said Stephen. 

Peter’s mood instantly flipped as he followed after Strange, and for the moment he let it go that he had technically failed again. 

xxx

There was obviously some energy between Strange and Stark, and the final push to bring them together involved Peter, just not in a way he suspected. 

Peter had been the first to respond against some type of tentacle, plant monster that had materialized in downtown Manhattan. When Strange had arrived, Peter, who was trying his best to contain the creature with a cord had asked the sorcerer if he was responsible for this. Stephen said no and Peter had started to make another snarky comment when the sorcerer yelled at him to look out. 

It was too late though and one of the buds on the tentacles had burst open in Peter’s face, forcing Peter to inhale a good portion of it. Peter’s vision instantly went blurry and his body became heavy and he would’ve lost his grip on the monster and crashed into the ground but he felt Stephen levitate over to him and grab him before that could happen. 

“Peter! Peter, it’ll be alright! Peter, stay with me!” 

Peter tried to keep his eyes open but it was as if his consciousness was being dragged down by an insurmountable force and his strength could do nothing to stop himself from sinking down into the void. 

‘I really hope I’m not dying,’ was his last thought as everything went dark. 

Luckily, Peter wasn’t dying but in the next few hours he sure found it hard to open his eyes and wake up all the way. He’d catch words or noises and he could tell he was on a soft surface. Once in a while he’d feel a hand smoothing down his hair or a cool cloth wiping his forehead. He couldn’t process how much time was passing in between these sensations. 

Gentle hands helped him sit up to drink a foul tasting liquid that he could barely swallow down. He tried to drift off again but then his body was wracked with violent tremors. He was whimpering and tears were streaming down his face but he was being held against a solid chest and he could barely make out someone saying sorry. “I’m sorry Peter, but this is the only way to save you.” 

Peter was fortunately directed to a bucket when the nausea overcame him and he vomited. This caused the tremors to subside and the exhaustion overcame him as he was laid back into the pillows. 

It must have been some time later when he next gained consciousness, Peter felt like he had slept for years. The idea of trying to move around made Peter think he may vomit again so he tried to just focus on the sounds around him instead. He heard footsteps walk up to the left of the bed he was sleeping in and stop. The person must have sat down. 

“I think we can safely say that his fever is gone,” said a voice that Peter recognized as Stephen’s coming from the right of the bed. 

From the left, he heard a sigh of relief that he could tell was from Tony. “So we are in the clear?” 

“Basically,” replied Stephen, “All of his vitals are stabilizing and there are no more traces of the foreign containment in his system.” 

“So your magic potion worked, good job, Doc.” 

“I just wish I had gotten to him sooner. It was such a manageable beast, there was no reason for him to get hurt.”

“You did hex that thing back to where it came from pretty quick,” said Tony, “I meant to compliment you on that.”

“It was just lost, probably drawn here by all the alien activity over the past few years. Slipped through a crack between the dimensions, it didn’t mean any harm. Peter accidentally triggered its defense mechanisms.” Stephen bent over to pull the covers over Peter more tightly. 

“He’s a good kid,” said Tony. 

“Yeah, he is,” said Stephen. “It’s pretty adorable how he’s been trying to get us to spend time with each other.” If Peter had had the energy he might have given himself away with a jerk. As it was, he just felt vaguely surprised. 

Tony laughed, “You noticed that?” 

“Of course I did, the kid may be a genius, but he isn’t subtle.” 

The silence that followed seemed to lead to an awkward moment and Peter almost wanted to sit up and scream, ‘Say something!’. He was very glad when Strange spoke again. 

“I do appreciate his efforts though.” 

“Oh?” said Tony, his voice perking up. 

“After everything with the Ancient One dying and Kar--Mordo leaving, it was easy to isolate myself and dedicate myself to studying the mystic arts and protecting the world from interdimensional threats. It was nice getting out.”

“So uh, you enjoyed the company?” asked Tony. 

Now Stephen laughed, “Yes, Tony. I liked being around an eager child and his eccentric pseudo father figure. It made me feel included, a part of something.” 

“You really think I’m his father figure?”

“He certainly does, Tony, he looks at you like you hung the moon and the stars. He does everything to make you proud. Hell, he probably thought getting me to come around would make you happy and that was his main motivator.”

Peter wants to croak out that he did it for Stephen too, that he cares for him too. But he hesitates. This is going somewhere. 

“Well it worked.”

“Did it now?” asked Stephen with an amused voice.

“Yeah, you’re smart, funny, and I like your cheekbones.”

“My cheekbones?”

“They are good cheekbones.” 

“I like you too Tony. I like you in a way I haven’t liked anyone in a while.”

“Let me take you out to dinner.”

“What? Right now?” asked Strange, taken aback at Tony’s frankness. 

“No, I mean sometime in the future. This weekend work? I could pencil you in.” 

“No,” replied Stephen curtly. Peter’s heart sank, all this work for nothing? Getting attacked by a giant plant had almost been worth it. 

“No?” Tony actually sounded hurt. He probably didn’t get turned down very often. 

“Yeah no, let me take you out. You’d just take me some swanky club in New York and we’d end up in the tabloids. I’ll take you to a place in a basement in Kathmandu that will make you believe they invented dumplings.” 

“Sounds like a pretty good bargain, Strange,” said Tony. 

“I’m good at those.” 

Peter’s faculties were returning and he finally decided to reveal himself. “Ughh,” he let out in a low moan. “You guys are gross. Stop flirting over my ill body.” He cracked his eyes open to find he was in a four poster bed in the Sanctum and the two men were on either side. 

“Peter! How long have you been awake for?” asked Stephen, coming forward to help prop the teenager up with some pillows. 

“Long enough to hear that you two stopped dancing around each other. The longing looks were getting so exhausting,” grumbled the teen. 

“Some of us aren’t hormone driven teens, Pete,” Tony. “I would’ve approached Stephen in enough time.”

“Or I would’ve swept you off your feet,” snapped Stephen. 

“Oh I’d like to see Stephen Strange, Magical MD, be super smooth.” 

“I don’t need to be, I’ll get the Cloak in here and he’ll sweep you up for me.”

“And then you’ll take me on a magic carpet ride. Show me a whole new world?”

“Multiple whole new worlds!”

“But I could see galaxies in those eyes of yours, baby,” replied Tony in a teasingly seductive tone. 

“Oh my god!” said Peter, grabbing a pillow and pressing it over his face before pulling it away, “I regret this, you guys are insufferable together already.” 

“You gotta live with the consequences, Pete, me and Stephen will be holding hands and making kissy faces at each other and it’s all your fault,” said Tony as he walked over to Stephen grabbing him in a romantic hero hold, Stephen leaning back with the back of hand against his forehead in a mock swoon. Peter gagged and threw the pillow at them, hitting Stephen’s shoulder. 

The two men stood up straight and Stephen said, “Oh well, that pose is awkward with a man shorter than you. Hey Peter how about you get some more rest, there’s a glass of water by the bed and if you need anything just whisper it to that oil painting of that creepy old lady over there in the corner.”

“Wait, what?” said Peter turning to look but Stephen laughed, “Just kidding Peter, your cell is right by the water, you can call either of us. Or just yell, the sound carries in this place.” 

Tony snatched Stephen’s hand and dragged him to the door, “We’ll be making you some dinner, Wong’s special soup recipe. Perfect for recovering from a magical alien plant attack it seems.”

Before they could leave though Peter called out, “Hey guys!” Both men turned to look at the teen. 

“I’m glad you two..finally happened. You seem like you could be happy together.”

“I’m glad too Peter,” said Stephen, “What about you Tony?”

Tony’s big brown eyes warmly regarded the taller man next to him and he smiled, “Yeah I think I’m pretty pleased.”

After they had left, Peter laid back into the down pillows and sighed contentedly. Sometimes he was good at this hero stuff.

**Author's Note:**

> Give some love if you'd like to see more of this ship and this little "superfamily" (no hate if you like it with Steve instead). Kudos or comments would do!


End file.
